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LONDON – Airport security is here to protect you, but it can also give you sniffles – or worse.
At all places and surfaces we've been warned about, there are germs or bacteria – your pets, subway seats, airplane cabins, ATMs – add the safety tray from airport.
Plastic bins – used at checkpoints at airports around the world and affected by millions of passengers putting on shoes, laptops, luggage and other items to clean x-ray scanners – are home to a variety of of germs responsible for colds, according to European researchers.
Scientists from the University of Nottingham in England and from the Finnish National Institute of Health and Welfare have frequently touched surfaces at the Helsinki airport in Finland during and after the rush hours of winter 2016 and found and influenza A virus.
They found traces on half of the luggage racks, more than on the other surfaces tested. None of these viruses have been found on airport toilet surfaces, they said.
The findings, published in the journal BMC Infectious Diseases, could help improve public health strategies in the fight against the spread of infectious diseases around the world.
The study could also help educate people on how the infections we try to avoid each winter spread, said Wednesday Jonathan Van-Tam, professor of health protection at the University of Toronto. University of Nottingham.
Many surfaces that we touch daily move and can spread germs. These include cell phones, kitchen sponges and even pretty rubber ducks. But air travel is known to accelerate the global spread of diseases such as flu, naturally released and potentially other people released intentionally.
The European Union has funded a research project, called Pandhub, on preventing the spread of "high-risk" pathogens through public transport. The study conducted by the University of Nottingham and the Finnish Institute is part of this project.
"The presence of microbes in the environment of an airport has not yet been studied," said Niina Ikonen, an expert in virology at the Finnish institute, who participated in the event. 39; study.
She added that the results provided new ideas for technical improvements in airport design and renovation.
Finavia, the company that operates the Helsinki Airport, said in an e-mail: "In Finavia airports, hygiene protocols comply with the requirements of health officials. All surfaces are cleaned daily. "
The results of the study did not prove that the viruses found can cause diseases, according to the researchers. But previous research had shown that microbes could survive on multiple surfaces for several days.
Washing your hands properly and coughing in a tissue, handkerchief or sleeve, especially in public places, can help minimize the risk of contagion, said Mr. Van-Tam.
"These simple precautions can help prevent pandemics and are particularly important in overcrowded areas such as airports that transport large numbers of people to and from many parts of the world," he added.
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